Reorganization plan no. 2 of 1973 : hearings, Ninety-third Congress, first session.

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The Inefficiency of Self-Sufficiency: Uzbekistan's Response to CASA-1000

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

"We do it, but they don't": Multiple categorizations and work team communication

The present study adopted an intergroup approach to information sharing and ratings of work team communication in a public hospital (N = 142) undergoing large-scale restructuring. Consistent with predictions, ratings of communication followed a double ingroup serving bias: while team members reported sending about the same levels of information to double ingroup members (same work team/same occupational group) as they did to partial ingroup members (same work team/different occupational group), they reported receiving less information from partial ingroup members than from double ingroup members and rated the communication that they received from partial ingroup members as less effective. We discuss the implication of these results for the management of information sharing and organizational communication.

Prioritizing global conservation efforts

One of the most pressing issues facing the global conservation community is how to distribute limited resources between regions identified as priorities for biodiversity conservation(1-3). Approaches such as biodiversity hotspots(4), endemic bird areas(5) and ecoregions(6) are used by international organizations to prioritize conservation efforts globally(7). Although identifying priority regions is an important first step in solving this problem, it does not indicate how limited resources should be allocated between regions. Here we formulate how to allocate optimally conservation resources between regions identified as priorities for conservation - the 'conservation resource allocation problem'. Stochastic dynamic programming is used to find the optimal schedule of resource allocation for small problems but is intractable for large problems owing to the curse of dimensionality(8). We identify two easy- to- use and easy- to- interpret heuristics that closely approximate the optimal solution. We also show the importance of both correctly formulating the problem and using information on how investment returns change through time. Our conservation resource allocation approach can be applied at any spatial scale. We demonstrate the approach with an example of optimal resource allocation among five priority regions in Wallacea and Sundaland, the transition zone between Asia and Australasia.

GESTÃO DE RISCO E GOVERNANÇA CORPORATIVA: AS EMPRESAS BRASILEIRAS NA BOLSA DE VALORES DE NOVA YORK

Esta dissertação trata da importância da Governança Corporativa e da Gestão de Risco para as empresas brasileiras que tem suas ações negociadas nas Bolsas de Valores de Nova York e de São Paulo. Tem como principais objetivos: a avaliação do atual estágio de adequação dessas empresas brasileiras às normas da Lei Sarbanes & Oxley, a confirmação da importância do gerenciamento de risco para a Governança Corporativa, buscando fazer uma associação da ocorrência de perdas patrimoniais com as ferramentas da gestão de risco e das fraudes com a fragilidade de normas de controle interno e com as normas emanadas dos órgãos externos regulatórios. O trabalho acadêmico, um estudo exploratório, teve como ponto de partida uma pesquisa bibliográfica de livros e artigos técnicos versando sobre Governança Corporativa com foco na gestão de riscos. A pesquisa foi feita através da leitura dos relatórios de administração das empresas selecionadas e a aplicabilidade das normas da Lei Sarbanes Oxley. Como conclusão foi possível confirmar com razoável certeza que as grandes perdas, que levaram empresas internacionais a quebra, ocorreram pela falta de uma eficaz gestão de risco ou por um deficiente sistema de controle interno associada a falta de ações preventivas. Por outro lado, apesar dos esforços das empresas brasileiras em se adequar às novas exigências para poder atuar no mercado financeiro do Brasil e dos Estados Unidos da América, parte das empresas pesquisadas ainda se encontra em fase de implementação dos Comitês de Auditoria, de Normas e Procedimentos de Controle Interno e das demais práticas de Gestão Corporativa. Novas pesquisas sobre o tema central deste estudo poderão ensejar no aprofundamento da questão da relação custo x benefício da implantação das práticas de Governança Corporativa e na questão da eficácia dos sistemas corporativos de gerenciamento e controle considerando os custos incorridos em sua implantação e manutenção e os benefícios obtidos. Propõe-se ainda um estudo que busque a revisão das responsabilidades das autoridades reguladoras no que tange ao controle ante e pós-fato. Um dilema a ser resolvido e que deve instigar futuros pesquisadores.(AU)

O BÔNUS PROFESSOR

Esta dissertação de mestrado fundamenta-se na pesquisa qualitativa e tem como objetivo a análise da ideologia do Bônus Mérito, instituído para os servidores públicos do Estado de São Paulo no início da década de 2000. Limitamos nossa análise à docência do ensino fundamental. As transformações econômicas, ocorridas a partir da década de 1980 nos países altamente industrializados, passam a exigir a melhoria do ensino dos países emergentes. Em conseqüência, a educação volta a ser revalorizada e a ter papel de destaque para os investimentos externos, através das agências e órgãos internacionais tais como: Bird, Unesco, Banco Mundial, PNUD. A ideologia do Bônus Mérito é um exemplo típico de transferência para o âmbito educacional de modelos de gestão das empresas privadas. Esta ideologia afeta a atividade docente, cujo desempenho é, doravante medido através de pontos, divisão de trabalho, impessoalidade, requalificação profissional etc. Efetivamente, em meio à globalização da economia e ao contexto político neoliberal, o governo do Estado de São Paulo optou, no período analisado, por seguir as determinações das grandes potências econômicas. O repasse de recursos financeiros recebidos pelo Estado para a efetivação das mudanças educacionais (diminuição da evasão, universalização das matrículas, aumento do número de alunos com aprovação) esteve condicionado às exigências das referidas agências e órgãos internacionais. Como é demonstrado neste trabalho, essa política relega a segundo plano o docente e sua prática de ensino. A explicitação do fundamento da ideologia do bônus no interior da escola pública visa demonstrar, em primeiro lugar, que o Bônus Mérito é um aparente benefício ao docente; e, em segundo lugar, que sua implantação não é outra coisa que o domínio econômico sobre o projeto educacional.

A dictionary of globalization

Globalization has become one of the most important topics within politics and economics. This new title explains some of the related terminology, summarizes the surrounding theories and examines the international organizations involved. With the proliferation of communications and the rise of the multi-national corporation, the concept of globalization is vitally important to the modern political environment. The structure of the modern economy, based on information production and diffusion, has made national boundaries largely irrelevant. A Dictionary of Globalization explains theories, philosophies and ideologies, and includes short biographies of leading activists, theorists and thinkers such as Noam Chomsky, Karl Marx and José Bové. Concepts, issues and terms key to the understanding of globalization also have clear and concise definitions, including democracy, civil society, non-governmental organizations and ethnicity. Cross-referenced for ease of use, this title aims to be of great benefit to anyone studying politics or sociology. It will prove essential to public and academic libraries, as well as to businesses, government departments, embassies and journalists.

A dictionary of globalization

Globalization has become one of the most important topics within politics and economics. This new title explains some of the related terminology, summarizes the surrounding theories and examines the international organizations involved. With the proliferation of communications and the rise of the multi-national corporation, the concept of globalization is vitally important to the modern political environment. The structure of the modern economy, based on information production and diffusion, has made national boundaries largely irrelevant. A Dictionary of Globalization explains theories, philosophies and ideologies, and includes short biographies of leading activists, theorists and thinkers such as Noam Chomsky, Karl Marx and José Bové. Concepts, issues and terms key to the understanding of globalization also have clear and concise definitions, including democracy, civil society, non-governmental organizations and ethnicity. Cross-referenced for ease of use, this title aims to be of great benefit to anyone studying politics or sociology. It will prove essential to public and academic libraries, as well as to businesses, government departments, embassies and journalists.

Changing employment relation systems in Japan:cases of the Mitsubishi Chemical Group and the Federation of Shinkin Banks

Over the past decade or so a number of changes have been observed in traditional Japanese employment relations (ERs) systems such as an increase in non-regular workers, a move towards performance-based systems and a continuous decline in union membership. There is a large body of Anglo-Saxon and Japanese literature providing evidence that national factors such as national institutions, national culture, and the business and economic environment have significantly influenced what were hitherto three ‘sacred’ aspects of Japanese ERs systems (ERSs). However, no research has been undertaken until now at the firm level regarding the extent to which changes in national factors influence ERSs across firms. This article develops a model to examine the impact of national factors on ER systems; and analyses the impact of national factors at the firm level ER systems. Based on information collected from two different groups of companies, namely Mitsubishi Chemical Group (MCG) and Federation of Shinkin Bank (FSB) the research finds that except for a few similarities, the impact of national factors is different on Japanese ER systems at the firm level. This indicates that the impact of national factors varies in the implementation of employment relations factors. In the case of MCG, national culture has less to do with seniority-based system. Study also reveals that the national culture factors have also less influence on an enterprise-based system in the case of FSB. This analysis is useful for domestic and international organizations as it helps to better understand the role of national factors in determining Japanese ERSs.

KM governance:the mechanisms for guiding and controlling KM program

Purpose: To establish and sustain their KM programs organizations need to establish mechanisms to ensure their governance. KM programs require business integration, senior management involvement and decision making authority. The present research investigates the KM governance mechanisms organizations use to guide and control their KM programs. The research seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the governance of KM and to support organizations in the development of their KM programs. Methodology: The study employs multiple case research methodology to analyze the KM governance arrangements of twelve international organizations and identify patterns in their governance configurations. Findings: The analysis identifies a range of structural, process and relational mechanisms that are critical for governing an organizational KM program. Different patterns among the KM governance mechanisms are identified which lead to the development of generic KM governance typologies. Research implications: The development of the KM governance framework allows future research to systematically investigate the KM governance phenomenon. As the present study is based on a configurational analysis future research should particularly target the performance implications of different KM governance configurations. Practical implications: The research provides insights into the diversity of KM governance mechanisms and their impact on a KM program. The KM governance framework can assist managers in reviewing their present and prospective KM programs and thereby support benchmarking or re-organization efforts. Originality: Building on prior research that has focused on individual KM governance aspects, the present study adopts a comprehensive perspective integrating structural, process and relational governance mechanisms.

Price of unsustainability. Economic impacts of climate change

Global problems, rapid and massive regional changes in the 21st century call for genuine long-term, awareness, planning and well focused actions from both national governments and international organizations. This book wishes to contribute to building an innovative path of strategic views in handling the diverse challenges, and more emphatically, the economic impacts of climate change. Although the contributors of this volume represent several approaches, they all rely on some common grounds such as the costbenefit analysis of mitigation and adaptation, and on the need to present an in-depth theoretical and practical dimension. The research accounted for in this book tried to integrate and confront various types of economics approaches and methods, as well as knowledge from game theory to country surveys, from agricultural adaptation to weather bonds, from green tax to historical experience of human adaptation. The various themes and points of views do deserve the attention of the serious academic reader interested in the economics of climate change. We hope to enhance the spread of good solutions resulting from world wide disputes and tested strategic decisions. WAKE UP! It is not just the polar bears' habitat that is endangered, but the entire human form of life.

Framing infectious diseases and U.S. public opinion

The United States has been increasingly concerned with the transnational threat posed by infectious diseases. Effective policy implementation to contain the spread of these diseases requires active engagement and support of the American public. To influence American public opinion and enlist support for related domestic and foreign policies, both domestic agencies and international organizations have framed infectious diseases as security threats, human rights disasters, economic risks, and as medical dangers. This study investigates whether American attitudes and opinions about infectious diseases are influenced by how the issue is framed. It also asks which issue frame has been most influential in shaping public opinion about global infectious diseases when people are exposed to multiple frames. The impact of media frames on public perception of infectious diseases is examined through content analysis of newspaper reports. Stories on SARS, avian flu, and HIV/AIDS were sampled from coverage in The New York Times and The Washington Post between 1999 and 2007. Surveys of public opinion on infectious diseases in the same time period were also drawn from databases like Health Poll Search and iPoll. Statistical analysis tests the relationship between media framing of diseases and changes in public opinion. Results indicate that no one frame was persuasive across all diseases. The economic frame had a significant effect on public opinion about SARS, as did the biomedical frame in the case of avian flu. Both the security and human rights frames affected opinion and increased public support for policies intended to prevent or treat HIV/AIDS. The findings also address the debate on the role and importance of domestic public opinion as a factor in domestic and foreign policy decisions of governments in an increasingly interconnected world. The public is able to make reasonable evaluations of the frames and the domestic and foreign policy issues emphasized in the frames.

Globalization and the public provision of higher education: Empirical evidence from selected countries

This research study was designed to examine the relationship between globalization as measured by the KOF index, its related forces (economic, political, cultural and technological) and the public provision of higher education. This study is important since globalization is increasingly being associated with changes in critical aspects of higher education. The public provision of education was measured by government expenditure and educational outcomes; that is participation, gender equity and attainment. The study utilized a non-experimental quantitative research design. Data collected from secondary sources for 139 selected countries was analyzed. The countries were geographically distributed and included both developed and developing countries. The choice of countries for inclusion in the study was based on data availability. The data, which was sourced from international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank, were examined for different time periods using five year averages. The period covered was 1970 to 2009.^ The relationship between globalization and the higher education variables was examined using cross sectional regression analysis while controlling for economic, political and demographic factors. The major findings of the study are as follows. For the two spending models, only one revealed a significant relationship between globalization and education with the R 2 s ranging from .222 to .448 over the period. This relationship was however negative indicating that as globalization increased, spending on higher education declined. However, for the education outcomes models, this relationship was not significant. For the sub-indices of globalization, only the political dimension showed significance as shown in the spending model. Political globalization was significant for six periods with R2 s ranging from .31 to .52.^ The study concluded that the results are mixed for both the spending and outcome models. It also found no robust effects of globalization on government education provision. This finding is not surprising given the existing literature which sees mixed results on the social impact of globalization.^

Conceptualizing American power and security in a post -9/11 security context: Conflict, resistance, and global security, 2001–present

In a post-Cold War, post-9/11 world, the advent of US global supremacy resulted in the installation, perpetuation, and dissemination of an Absolutist Security Agenda (hereinafter, ASA). The US ASA explicitly and aggressively articulates and equates US national security interests with the security of all states in the international system, and replaced the bipolar, Cold War framework that defined international affairs from 1945-1992. Since the collapse of the USSR and the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, the US has unilaterally defined, implemented, and managed systemic security policy. The US ASA is indicative of a systemic category of knowledge (security) anchored in variegated conceptual and material components, such as morality, philosophy, and political rubrics. The US ASA is based on a logic that involves the following security components: (1) hyper militarization, (2) intimidation,(3) coercion, (4) criminalization, (5) panoptic surveillance, (6) plenary security measures, and (7) unabashed US interference in the domestic affairs of select states. Such interference has produced destabilizing tensions and conflicts that have, in turn, produced resistance, revolutions, proliferation, cults of personality, and militarization. This is the case because the US ASA rests on the notion that the international system of states is an extension, instrument of US power, rather than a system and/or society of states comprised of functionally sovereign entities. To analyze the US ASA, this study utilizes: (1) official government statements, legal doctrines, treaties, and policies pertaining to US foreign policy; (2) militarization rationales, budgets, and expenditures; and (3) case studies of rogue states. The data used in this study are drawn from information that is publicly available (academic journals, think-tank publications, government publications, and information provided by international organizations). The data supports the contention that global security is effectuated via a discrete set of hegemonic/imperialistic US values and interests, finding empirical expression in legal acts (USA Patriot ACT 2001) and the concept of rogue states. Rogue states, therefore, provide test cases to clarify the breadth, depth, and consequentialness of the US ASA in world affairs vis-à-vis the relationship between US security and global security.

The World Trade Organization, competition policy, and developing countries: A cross -country examination of domestic policy actions

This dissertation addresses the following research question: in a particular policy area, why do countries that display unanimity in their international policy behavior diverge from each other in their domestic policy actions? I address this question in the context of the divergent domestic competition policy actions undertaken by developing countries during the period 1996-2007, after these countries had quite conspicuously displayed near-unanimity in opposing this policy measure at the World Trade Organization (WTO). This divergence is puzzling because (a) it does not align with their near-unanimous behavior at the WTO over competition policy and (b) it is at variance with the objectives of their international opposition to this policy at the WTO. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this dissertation examines the factors responsible for this divergence in the domestic competition policy actions of developing countries. ^ The theoretical structure employed in this study is the classic second-image-reversed framework in international relations theory that focuses on the domestic developments in various countries following an international development. Methodologically, I employ both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis to ascertain the nature of the relationship between the dependent variable and the eight explanatory variables that were identified from existing literature. The data on some of the key variables used in this dissertation was uniquely created over a multi-year period through extensive online research and represents the most comprehensive and updated dataset currently available. ^ The quantitative results obtained from logistic regression using data on 131 countries point toward the significant role played by international organizations in engineering change in this policy area in developing countries. The qualitative analysis consisting of three country case studies illuminate the channels of influence of the explanatory variables and highlight the role of domestic-level factors in these three carefully selected countries. After integrating the findings from the quantitative and qualitative analyses, I conclude that a mix of international- and domestic-level variables explains the divergence in domestic competition policy actions among developing countries. My findings also confirm the argument of the second-image-reversed framework that, given an international development or situation, the policy choices that states make can differ from each other and are mediated by domestic-level factors. ^